On the Trail: Thursday in Iowa; Bits and Pieces from the Campaign Trail

Dinner for Two? - Michele Bachmann announced today that she'll head to Waterloo for the Blackhawk County Lincoln GOP Dinner on Aug. 14 - the same dinner Rick Perry announced he would attend earlier this month. Though Perry is technically not in the race just yet, he told TIME's Mark Halperin, “I’m kind of getting into the all-in point and the idea that this is what I’m supposed to be doing."

"Corporations are people" - Romney during a heated exchange with fairgoers at the Iowa State Fair soapbox.

Soapbox Shoutdown and Peacocks - Romney gets into a heated discussion with a fairgoer at the soapbox. The shouting fairgoer wants to know how Romney is going to protect Medicare and Social Security without cutting benefits. Romney ultimately says the fairgoer should vote for Barack Obama, but that Obama is "killing America" by trying to raise taxes.

There's a follow-up from someone who describes himself as a "peacock farmer."

Soapbox Derby: Romney didn't "Inhale Politics" - The place to be for politics at the Iowa State Fair today is the soapbox, where candidates give stump speeches.

First up today is Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and GOP frontrunner.

Back in June, Huntsman had an explanation for his absence in the Hawkeye State. "I'm not competing in Iowa for a reason. I don't believe in subsidies that prop up corn, soybeans," Huntsman said. And he went on, "I probably won't be spending a lot of time in Iowa. I understand how the politics work there." (via @Sarah_Kunin)

Democrats in Iowa too - President Obama will soon start a bus tour through Iowa and his top surrogate, DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, will speak at the soapbox too. More from @devindwyer.

The uninvited: Thaddeus McCotter won't be on stage at the debate tonight, but he will be livestreaming debate responses from the WHO studio at the Iowa State Fair. (via @MichaelPFalcone)

ABC's Jonathan Karl ( @jonkarl) tweeted that CBS' Norah O'Donnell asked Tim Pawlenty what his goals were for the big night ahead. His answer? "'To drink less than three beers after the debate.'"

Michele Bachmann had just one event scheduled today before the Republican debates - a backyard chat in Ankeny with State Senator Jack Whitver - but the campaign postponed that this morning without explanation. (via @matthewbjaffe)

Last night during a campaign stop in Des Moines (held at the same Mariott where Mitt Romney was prepping and then later taped his appearance on The Sean Hannity Show), Rand Paul introduced his family to the crowd. Paul has three sons - William, Duncan and Robert. Their father issued a challenge to one of the frontrunners in the presidential primary race that night: the Romneys against the Pauls in a baseball game in Ames on Saturday.

Alas, it's unlikely the Romney family will accept the challenge; Mitt will be in New Hampshire this weekend. (via @Jason_Volack and @EmilyABC)